Friday, July 4, 2008

After hours and hours of research and numerous failed experiments (and one successful one, see below), I’ve finished the linear polarization system. The final setup uses an overhead projector with an ancient gem bolted on the front. I managed to find an old polarization movie projector attachment manufactured by Paramount complete with an ancient manual. The polarized lenses within it are far superior to the sheets I bought online and it has a very flexible and finely tunable mirror system. Another convenient aspect of its lenses is they’re compatible with the paper I bougtht from Flax so I don’t have to spray paint my own screen.

Here’s a quick demo of how it works. In the left image below you can see a + crossed with an x. If you look at the overhead stage in the left image above, you’ll see the + and x are separated by about 5 inches. Now look at the right image below. You’ll see each of the lenses only sees either part of the + or part of the x. Just another wonderfully complex way to present different images to each eye!